If you haven’t heard about 100 gecs yet (which at this point I’d say is pretty impossible), I’m going to explain what they are all about; they sound exactly like Skrillex and Avril Lavigne having sex while Cannibal Corpse are watching.
The duo formed by Laura Les and Dylan Brady revolutionized the entire pop landscape with their first official release, 1000 gecs, last year. For us, “…100 gecs is a project that by definition everyone under 35 years old can’t possibly not love, everything good from our teenage years is condensed into under 25 minutes, a wet dream for any avid music lover in 2019”. The album had such a big impact on the scene, both mainstream and underground, that just one year after the release, Laura and Dylan have dropped an enormous collection of remixes called 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues.
Usually, remix albums tend to be flat, repurposing almost the same canvas with little or less to offer, becoming a platform where the most trending artists can jump on and squeeze out some hype. However, 1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues isn’t this kind of release. Not only is the list of guests in this collection huge and diverse (A.G. Cook, Injury Reserve, Kero Kero Bonito, Fall Out Boy, just to name a few), but the liberties taken by the artists are so blatant that each remix seems to be a new song itself.
The album opens with the remix of “Money Machine” from A.G. Cook, switching the mood from bubblegummy and playful to an abrasive wall of noise by the end. Then, the bizarre trio formed by Charli XCX, Kero Kero Bonito and Rico Nasty hop on “ringtone”. The choir seems to fit Charli perfectly and the chemistry between the girls is amazing.
The “745 sticky” and “gecgecgec”’s remixes represent the rap moments on the project: the first, with Injury Reserve, takes a lot of liberties, making “745sticky” almost a complete different tracks, with its horns and goofy trumpets. The latter, in collaboration with Lil West, shows how 100 gecs devise a trap-banger. Other highlights on the album are Tommy Cash and Hannah Diamond’s eurodance take on “xXXi_wud_nvrstøp”, the ultra-harsh industrial noise-grindcore remix of “745 sticky” by Black Dresses and the Fall Out Boy take on “hand crushed by a mallet” with Craig Owens and Nicolle Dollanger, a bizarre but entertaining mash-up between artists that are so far from each other but seem to fit perfectly.
At the end of the album there are two live sessions from Adult Swim‘s FishCenter (you can find them also on Youtube) and two unreleased tracks. The first, “came to my show”, introduced by what seems to be a Disney marching band on acid, is a fun, catchy and kitschy song. The latter is “toothless”, where Dylan Brady and Laura Les go for a more hyperkinetic hyper dance pop approach.
1000gecs and The Tree of Clues shows that 100 gecs are not a meme and summarizes what Dylan and Laura already said to us with their first album, confirming their status as one of the most interesting, unique and avantgarde acts currently working.
100 gecs A.G. Cook Adult Swim Black Dresses Charli XCX Craig Owens Danny L Harle Dorian Electra Dylan Brady Fall Out Boy Hannah Diamond Injury Reserve Kero Kero Bonito Laura Les Lil West Rico Nasty TOMM¥ €A$H
Last modified: July 27, 2020
